A Brief Update on the World's Newest War
As of Thursday morning…
The number of people killed in Israel during the Hamas attack rose to more than 1300 and the number of injured rose to approximately 3,300, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported. 222 Israeli soldiers have died in the conflict so far. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that Israeli strikes on Gaza have now killed 1,203 people and injured more than 5,700 in Gaza.
Officials of multiple governments have reported smaller numbers of their citizens killed in the initial HAMAS attack. Israel has stated that 97 Israelis are being held hostage. The Red Cross says it’s ready to act as a neutral mediator to resolve the hostage situation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says at least 25 Americans were killed by Hamas and more are being held hostage. Israeli officials say Gaza will be denied food, water and electricity going forward. The UN and Egypt are encouraging an end to those restrictions and are also making efforts to supply humanitarian aid to the citizens in the Gaza Strip. Gaza hospitals are at capacity while medical supplies and fuel are running out.
338,000 Palestinians, so far, have been displaced by the ongoing siege on the Gaza Strip.
After mortars were fired at Israel Wednesday from Syrian territory, Israel has also fired back, damaging major airports in Damascus and Aleppo.
Hamas militants have vowed to broadcast executions of Israeli hostages on the internet and tech firms have no way to prevent that. Via the Washington Post today:
A spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in an audio message posted to the group’s Telegram account this week that its fighters would kill hostages, one by one, every time an Israeli strike hits a home in Gaza, the dense coastal strip of more than 2 million Palestinians under Hamas control.
The executions, the spokesman said, would be broadcast in “audio and video,” though he did not specify where or when they would be shown. Hamas is believed to have abducted more than 100 people, mostly civilians, during its brutal assault on southern Israel. Some have already been killed, according to video reviewed by The Washington Post.
They’ve already displayed videos of the horrors done by them in the initial attack.
Social media reports that Israeli babies have been beheaded or burned alive remain anti-Hamas propaganda as neither have been confirmed.